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Applause filled Horsham’s Capitol Theatre last night as local heroes and organisations received recognition for their outstanding contribution to the community. The West Sussex County Times Community Awards Ceremony was a touching occasion and more than 20 deserving winners were presented with awards.

During our Olympic Evening, at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester on Monday 19th December, we held a special collection for Winston’s Wish and raised £730. It is the leading childhood bereavement charity and the largest provider of services to bereaved families in the UK. Our star guest Gemma Spofforth, a former 100m backstroke world champion and current world record holder, was particularly keen to help raise funds for the appeal as her mother Lesley sadly passed away in 2007. Winston’s Wish provided great support to Gemma and her family at this difficult time. The money collected will go towards helping families and young people, both nationally and in West Sussex.

Following our Olympic Evening, starring champion swimmer Gemma Spofforth, on 19th December we have received a great deal of publicity and positive feedback about the event. In the run-up to the show at the Minerva Theatre we ran some promotions with the local media, offering readers the chance to win seats. One competition winner, Chris Luesley, won two seats through the Worthing Herald and he particularly enjoyed meeting Gemma after the show. He is a member of Worthing Swimming Club and has produced a wonderful article about his experience on the night http://www.worthingswimmingclub.org/News/An%20Evening%20with%20Olympic%2...

Spofforths partners, Chay Took and Jo-Anne Haulkham recently attended the Not the New Year’s Eve Ball at Worthing Golf Club. More than 100 guests attended the event and raised £5,000 towards a new service provided by Guildcare for people with dementia, their carers, family and friends.

We attended the launch of Horsham Time Well Spent 2012 at the Capitol Theatre on Thursday 19th January. Horsham District Council announced an exciting programme of events that it will run in partnership with Horsham Unlimited, local businesses and community organisations.

Entries are now being taken for the Observer and Gazette Business Awards 2012. There are 19 fantastic categories spanning from Small Business, through to the Lifetime Achievement winner. We are delighted to sponsor the Business Start-Up Award and look forward to attending the awards ceremony at the Avisford Park Hilton Hotel on Friday 30 March.

Despite the somewhat macabre nature of the after dinner talk delivered by renowned expert David Briffett on our local acid bath murderer, John Haig, the evening was a rip-roaring success. David's blood curdling talk had everyone sitting on the edge of their seats. It was preceded by a sumptuous two-course dinner and no doubt due to the content most guests fortified themselves with an extra glass of wine from the bar.

We are delighted to announce that Gemma will compete in the 2012 Games after qualifying in the 100 metres backstroke on Monday evening.

It was fantastic to see more than 80 local business people at the
Networking4, organised by the Best of Worthing, on Monday 19 March. We were
really proud to sponsor this event which was held at Worthing Rugby Club. A
business card draw was held on the night and Green Fish Recruitment won a
prize that we provided.

Congratulations to our Worthing office for getting active on 23 March to help raise funds for Sport Relief 2012. Staff organised an action packed mufti day which involved a cake sale, breakfast sarnie run and egg and spoon race. Their efforts were rewarded as they raised a fantastic £147.56! The money will be spent by Comic Relief to help people living incredibly tough lives, both at home in the UK and across the world's poorest countries.

Spofforths celebrated with the best of the Chichester business community on Friday 30 April at the Observer and Gazette Business Awards. Well-known TV presenter Fred Dinenage compared the event at the Hilton Avisford Park Hotel. It was a fantastic evening and a pleasure to see so many businesses being recognised for the achievements they have made despite the tough economic climate. We sponsored the Business Start-Up category and I was delighted to present the winners, Pure Employment Law, with their award. Peter and Nicola have achieved great success since starting Pure in 2010 and look set to build a bright future on solid foundations. We would also like to congratulate Spofforths client Jools Chaffer for scooping the Business personality award. Jools is the driving force behind Community Interest Company "Dizzy" and works tirelessly to raise awareness of diabetes through education and support programmes. 

With just a few months until the Games Mark Spofforth has been looking at the similarities between the world of sport and business. As the father of Olympic swimmer Gemma Spofforth he has great experience of both. In his role as Deputy President of the ICAEW Mark joined business leaders at the annual dinner of The Southern Society of Chartered Accountants and talked about the skills needed in both sport and business. Follow this link to read more: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/business/local-business/firms-need-some-olympic-ambition-1-3696992

On 12 May 2012 I will be taking part in a firewalk challenge to raise funds for Winston’s Wish, the leading childhood bereavement charity. This special event is being held at the Jackie Stewart Pavillion Paddocks, Goodwood Motor Circuit. A team of firewalk professionals will provide me and other fundraisers with 2 hours of training before we embark on this amazing challenge.